In 1997, Tuskegee University’s (TU) administration approved the offering of the Ph.D. Program in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). A group of faculty representing eight disciplines of science and engineering was designated as MSE faculty, whose responsibility was to develop the curriculum and implement the program. The curriculum of the Ph.D. program was developed and approved in June 1998, and the program was successfully implemented in fall 1998. The curriculum was reviewed and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) during the same year. The primary objective of the program is to significantly increase the number of African Americans holding Ph.D. degrees in Science and Engineering. To date, TU has produced 31 PhDs in MSE and has become the largest producer of African American MSE PhDs in the nation.

In March 2011, the TU Trustees approved the establishment of the Department of MSE and authorized the development of a Master’s program in MSE. In October 2011, the TU Trustees approved the Master’s program in MSE, which was subsequently accepted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission (SACS); and was implemented in January 2013.